Lennon in hiding

What the Libs reckon

Media Release

Tasmanian Liberal Leader

WILL HODGMAN, MHA

Wednesday, 24 May 2006

Hydro Position Creates Budget Fears

There are grave fears for the funding of election promises in the upcoming State Budget.

Tasmanian Liberal Leader, Will Hodgman, said the ruling out of a $300 million bailout for the Hydro by the State Treasurer, Michael Aird, brings into question the capacity of the Government to fully fund all election promises.

“The Hydro has basically said to the Government it needs a bailout of $300 million to prop up its balance sheet. It’s pointed to possible cut-backs in maintenance and capital expenditure as options to address it present financial issues,” Mr Hodgman said.

“Michael Aird has now come out and rejected the Hydro’s plea, but failed to give any reasons to Tasmanians for doing so.

“Perhaps he’s said to the Hydro it ought to improve its cash flows, profits and reserves through increasing power prices. If that’s the case he needs to be up front with Tasmanians.

“On the other hand if his budget is under pressure then he needs to reveal that as well.

“Additionally Mr Aird needs to immediately guarantee Tasmanians that all of the Labor Party’s election promises, especially those relating to health, education and police, are kept.

“Promises in health alone amount to an extra $250 million and given the Treasurer’s turned a deaf ear on the Hydro there are grave fears that these funds also won’t be provided in the budget.”

Media Release

Leader of Opposition Business

SUE NAPIER, MHA

Tuesday, 23 May 2006

Premier resorts to massive cover-up

Premier Lennon has resorted to a massive cover-up by not rescheduling the important Government Business Enterprise hearings.

“The Premier is guilty of a massive cover up,” the Leader of Opposition Business, Sue Napier, said today.

“The Tasmanian Liberals have many questions about the operations of Government Business Enterprises, but the Premier has shut down the scrutiny process.

“By shutting down this important level of scrutiny, Tasmanians will be denied the opportunity of getting to the bottom of Hydro Tasmania’s $300 million cash crisis.

“And Tasmanians will be denied the opportunity of knowing what else Premier Lennon and his State Government are not telling us about the operations of other Government Business Enterprises such as TOTE Tasmania, Aurora Energy and Metro.

“Taxpayers have invested significantly in these State Government Business Enterprises.

“Taxpayers therefore expect that an appropriate degree of scrutiny is able to occur through the parliamentary hearings process.”

Mrs Napier called on the Premier to back down on his massive cover-up and schedule the GBE hearings to a week following the upcoming sitting of State Parliament.

What the Greens reckon

Peg Putt MHA
Tuesday, 23 MAY 2006

LENNON HIDES FROM QUESTIONS OVER THE HYDRO’S FINANCES

Greens To Bring Scrutiny Proposal to Working Arrangements of Parliament Committee

The Tasmanian Greens today accused the Premier of running into hiding after he refused to hold Parliamentary Estimates Committee Scrutiny of Government Business Enterprises this year now that the major issue of a $300 million hole in Hydro’s finances have come to light.

Greens Opposition Leader Peg Putt MHA vowed to take the matter to the Working Arrangements of Parliament Committee for a decision and pointed out that if Paul Lennon has his way then the Annual Report for the year 2004-2005 and the subsequent report for 2005-2006 will not be examined until February 2007, an unacceptably long time lag and clear evidence that the government is evading scrutiny and accountability.

“It is an outrage that when the predictions of a Hydro financial crisis have now been borne out by leaked internal evidence that they have sought a $300 million bail out from the government or will be forced to sell assets, that the Premier continues to try and shroud the Hydro’s performance in secrecy,” Ms Putt said.

“It was bad enough that he chose to go to election at a time which wiped out the normal scrutiny of Government Business Enterprises for this year but to now fail to bring forward the examination of this and other GBE’s such as the TT Line, Forestry Tasmania and Metro, all of whom who have their own issues which need to be delved into, is quite extraordinary.”

“Make no mistake about it, Labor under Lennon is hiding what is going on from the Tasmanian people and will continue to do so for as long as possible.”

“Remember that it was the Government Business Enterprise Scrutiny Committee which finally brought focus to the brutal truth about the performance of the TT Line and whilst this made the government uncomfortable was very necessary, yet Paul Lennon is hiding from any similar efforts by the elected Members of Parliament to get to the bottom of what is going on in other Government Businesses.”

“The Greens have been saying for years now that there is a huge amount of debt accumulating in Government Business Enterprises and that like a House of Cards it will at some stage start to fall with severe repercussions, yet Paul Lennon didn’t want people to know about this at the election and still doesn’t want to come clean.”

“I will take a proposal to the Working Arrangements of Parliament Committee which actually determines the timing of such scrutiny committees and I will seek hearings to be brought forward so that we can hear evidence on the annual reports for the last two years, as waiting until late February or early March has already been proved problematic and in the current situation is simply untenable.”

“On one hand we have an award winning author of a report critical of Basslink calling for a Royal Commission, and on the other the Premier won’t even expedite the normal Parliamentary examination to make up for the cancellation of the committee hearings earlier this year,” Ms Putt said.